The Qaidam Basin in the northwestern part of Qinghai provincet is an intermontane faulting basin controlled by the Kunlun Mountains, the Altun Mountains and the Qilian Mountains. Due to large- scale deposition of the Jurassic strata in the basin, the basin contains abundant oil and gas resources. Many scholars have done a lot of research on the tectonic evolution of the Qaidam Basin, but study was restricted by the basin- mountain coupling mode of the basin. Most of the basin lacks the seismic data due to complicated topography and geological conditions. Only local areas obtained some seismic data, but with poor quality. Lacking exploration data has restricted detailed study of the tectonic evolution of the region. The study focused mainly on the tectonic setting and structural framework of the basin. Based on the regional geology and geophysical data of the Qaidam Basin, this study obtained 3- D electrical model of the study area using three- dimensional nonprofilear conjugate gradient (3D- NLCG). The results show that the three- dimensional electrical model has revealed a seires of faulting basins in the northern margin of the Qaidam Basin, which were produced from the Mesozoic extension. A series of compression- dominated thrusting structures produced from the Himalayan tectonic activity during the Cenozoic resulted in the dynamic electrical characteristics of the basin, such as cal absence of early Jurassic- late Cretaceous strata.